Visual Arts Association offers scholarships to help local artists

Instructor Devon Murphy helps students create glass ornaments at First City Art Center in Pensacola on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. The Visual Arts Association recently made a donation to sponsor children to attend the First City Art Center's Creatisphere, a summer camp for children ages 7 to 14 that runs May 29 to June 4.(Photo: Gregg Pachkowski/gregg@pnj.com)Buy Photo

For the past 18 years, a nonprofit has been granting scholarships to local arts students under the radar. But now it wants to be more out in the open.

"The Visual Arts Association has worked diligently in the background for so many years," said Pat Page, the organization's president. "We have sustained for so long. We now want other people to know what we're doing. We're tired of being quiet."

Pamela Nichols, a local portrait artist, joined the VAA's board of trustees last year at its treasurer.

"It's not a social thing," Nichols said. "It's all about helping the artists, for people to do their art. It's a very expensive endeavor."

The group has reached out to the public school system, working artists and college students through scholarships ranging from $200 to $500.

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From left, Visual Arts Association of Northwest Florida's President Pat Page, board member Pat Regan, treasurer Pamela Nichols and board member Shawna Fulton, far right, present a check to First City Art Center Executive Director Meredith Doyen, second from right, at the art center in Pensacola on Wednesday, May 10, 2017.(Photo: Gregg Pachkowski/gregg@pnj.com)

"We evolved into a passion about youth and about serving the underprivileged and well-deserving," Page said. "Then they have the opportunity to explore what art is all about."

The Visual Arts Association of Northwest Florida Inc. was founded in 1998 by the late Bettie Shea, a charter member of Quayside Gallery. Shea and her husband owned Tiki House, the landmark inn on Pensacola Beach. The original intent was for Shea to lend her business acumen to raise money for repairs to the gallery's historic digs. Fellow member, Audrey Page, who was also Pat Page's mother, died in 2001, leaving behind a cache of art supplies that she used for her beloved figurative acrylic paintings.

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Instructor Devon Murphy helps students create glass ornaments at First City Art Center in Pensacola on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. The Visual Arts Association recently made a donation to sponsor children to attend the First City Art Center’s Creatisphere, a summer camp for children ages 7 to 14.(Photo: Gregg Pachkowski/gregg@pnj.com)

Shea asked Pat Page and her family if they would consider selling it to support the VAA. Through a publicized yard sale, they grossed $3,000. That, along with memorial contributions, helped endow the organization.

One could say that in general, college scholarships grow on trees. The trick is to know which orchard to pick from. But art scholarships are fairly rare, and the VAA wanted to fill the void.

While keeping a low profile, the group contacted public schools, literally challenging art students to bring in their work for consideration for a scholarship. In subsequent years, the organization extended the offer to college students. Last year, its members found a different cause.

"One of our most rewarding was a grant of $200 to purchase art supplies for the GED program at Pensacola State College," Page said.

The students, she said, met in a classroom bereft of art supplies. The instructor was forced to teach sculpture with detritus like toilet paper rolls.

By last fall, the VAA's funds were nearly dried up, and the board convened to map out its future.

"We were attempting to find out which turn to go," Page said. "One of the first things we wanted to do was to have a cocktail party."

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Instructor Devon Murphy helps students create glass ornaments at First City Art Center in Pensacola on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. The Visual Arts Association recently made a donation to sponsor children to attend the First City Art Center’s Creatisphere, a summer camp for children ages 7 to 14.(Photo: Gregg Pachkowski/gregg@pnj.com)

Last month, local artist Pat Regan opened her home for "Leave a Legacy," the VAA's first fundraiser. The evening paired wine and hors d'oeuvres with a silent auction for a paying audience.

"It was like a garden party," Page said. "The weather was fabulous. It was a huge success financially."

The auction included mostly donated artwork by local artists like Nichols, Kristen Regan, Kathy Breazeale, Sandy Ford and Autry Dye. The event's proceeds were earmarked for First City Art Center's Creatisphere, a multi-themed summer camp for ages 7 to 14 that runs May 29 to June 4. The $200 scholarship is in memory of Mark Tuzo, a former VAA board member. The gift also emphasizes the rising prominence of Creatisphere, as it has gone from serving 45 to 216 children in just four years.

"It's definitely grown," said Lauren Lentile, the art center's marketing director and a certified children's yoga instructor. "We've added yoga and every week we try to weave in art history."

As the VAA breaks out of its shell, it recently held a competition for its new logo won by Art Study Club artist Nancy Morrison Nesvik. The board, meanwhile, is already in the mindset to branch out with workshops and lectures.

"It's all about education," Page said. "We want to be there with the big guys."